Google Street View cleared by privacy watchdog

U.K. agency rejects complaint by London-based human rights group

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An undated file photo made available by Google Friday April 3, 2009 of one of their street mapping cars. You're never far from a camera in Britain, a country that has accepted the presence of millions of surveillance cameras in its streets, shopping centers and public spaces. But for the villagers of Broughton in southern England, the roving eye of Google was a camera too far. A gaggle of residents of the affluent hamlet formed a human chain to turn away a car shooting images for Google Street View, the popular service that allows Internet users to see high-quality photos of houses and streets around the world (AP Photo/Google) **EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES**

LONDON — Britain's privacy watchdog says Google Street View should not be removed or shut down.

The Information Commissioner's Office rejected a complaint Thursday by London-based human rights group Privacy International which had argued that Google's high-quality photos of houses and streets breached people's privacy.

The ICO says it would not be in the public interest to remove the service in a world "where many people Tweet, Facebook and blog."

The agency says it received 74 complaints and inquiries about Street View but argued it caused little privacy intrusion.